Conscious Kitchen was piloted in 2013 at Bayside MLK Academy in Marin City. This unincorporated, low-income area is nestled in one of the most affluent counties in the United States. More than 95% of Marin City students qualify for free-and-reduced government-subsidized school meals. 88% of students in this community will be the first in their families to graduate from high school. Although Marin County is teaming with organic farms and ethical food purveyors, Marin City is a food-insecure neighborhood. 58% of 5th graders at Bayside-MLK Academy in Marin City are overweight or at risk of obesity.
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Conscious Kitchen set out to accomplish the seemingly impossible; to transition from heat-and-serve, pre-packaged, processed school food served at Bayside MLK Academy to meals prepared with fresh, local, organic, seasonal, nutritious, zero waste (FLOSNZ) ingredients. In partnership with Executive Chef Justin Everett of Cavallo Point Lodge and the Sausalito Marin City School District and with support from Good Earth Natural Foods, CK began its work to shift the paradigm around school food.
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Two years later, in the fall of 2015, Conscious Kitchen expanded to its second site, Willow Creek Academy in Sausalito, forming the nation’s first 100% organic, non-GMO school district. During the 2015–2017 school years, CK served 450+ students more than 190,000 chef-prepared FLOSNZ meals in on-site, low-waste kitchens, which included breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The program is accompanied by an interdisciplinary garden, nutrition and culinary curriculum that promotes food literacy and environmental education. Students plant, cultivate, harvest and eat food, as they follow it from from seed to fork. As a result, they are developing the knowledge, tools and habits they need to live healthier, more productive lives.
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CK then expand its program to neighboring West Contra Costa County Unified School District (WCCUSD) to test this blueprint and framework in a large school district where a majority (70%) of students live below the poverty line. In Spring 2017, the West Contra Costa County Board of Education voted to approve an agreement to allow CK to begin a year-long program to transition food service at two public elementary schools in their district, Peres and Madera Elementary Schools, as a first step in their district. Learn more about this expansion here.
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In the face of the Coronavirus crisis in 2020, Conscious Kitchens operated as hubs for community resiliency with the teams, equipment, supply chains and structure to scale up with urgency and immediate local implementation — preparing and dispatching tens of thousands of breakfasts, lunches and dinners for kids, families, seniors, food-insecure, homeless and others facing unprecedented challenges, as well as hardworking frontline medical responders, while directly and meaningfully supporting staff, organic farmers, food purveyors, small businesses and more. Read more on Covid relief operations here.
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Conscious Kitchen is now shifting paradigms with large scale organic procurement in collaboration with WCCUSD, to source, pack and distribute 23,000 food boxes each week with 100% organic ingredients for 644,000 meals — and therein proving that sourcing fresh, local, organic food is cost-effective, benefits the climate, supports farmers, and contributes to resilient communities. Find out more here.
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CK’s accomplishments since 2013 are unprecedented. The program is creating partnerships with schools, county offices, district leaders, students, businesses, and organizations to continue expanding throughout Bay Area counties, statewide and beyond.